The present invention relates to transactions made over telecommunication networks. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique for making secure gaming transactions over telecommunication networks.
As technology advances, an increasing number of transactions occurs electronically. Persons may now perform myriad transactions electronically, such as by using telecommunication equipment. For example, individuals can conduct their banking business from home or elsewhere using a computer, a telephone or an automatic teller machine. Many persons also conduct transactions on the Internet using computers and televisions adapted for Internet access. Electronic transactions include, but are not limited to, playing games including wagering games, performing research, making purchases, and communicating with other persons.
With the increase in electronic transactions, there is a concomitant increase in transactions involving sensitive information. These transactions include transmission and receipt of, and access to, sensitive information. The transmission of sensitive information using publicly-accessible channels presents security concerns. For example, persons wishing to conduct banking transactions or to make purchases over a publicly-accessible telecommunication network need assurances that they are in fact dealing with the entity with which they desire to communicate.
It may be desirable to regulate certain transactions due to the nature of the transactions. For example, gaming transactions, especially those gaming operations involving wagering, are often regulated by various levels of government. The regulation may include several transaction criteria including geographic restrictions and age requirements. Access to sensitive material, such as material of a violent nature, may also be regulated publicly through the government or privately through the supplier of the information.
There are many problems with the provision of sensitive information and services over publicly-accessible channels such as networks, including the Internet.
At least one problem is that if a user seeks to access information or a service over the Internet, there is no face-to-face interaction between the user and the provider of the information or service. Because there is no face-to-face contact, it is difficult to assure that a person or entity on either end of the communication meets required criteria or is the person or entity purported to be. In other words, a person may lie as to who he or she is in order to gain access to information or services that he or she is not entitled to receive.
Additionally, because access may be achieved over global telecommunication systems such as telephone lines and the Internet, providers of information and services often do not know the geographic location of a person attempting to gain access to the information or services. In some cases, access to certain information or services may be restricted to persons within certain geographic regions.
Attempts to assure the status of a person attempting to gain access to information or services or to whom a person is going to transmit sensitive data have fallen short of desired levels of certainty. For example, a common technique used on many Internet web sites to control access to information and services is simply to ask the person requesting access to answer one or more questions. Based on the responses to the questions, the person may gain immediate access to the resources. Alternatively, an investigation may be undertaken to determine whether a person corresponding to the information provided meets criteria for access to the resources. Such systems, however, rely upon the integrity of the person providing the information.
These attempts to provide assurances are inadequate because they are susceptible to the user's lying in order to gain access to resources. Users may provide false information including, but not limited to, information identifying a person other than the user and false information as to the user's location. Also, a person may falsely represent the person's or an entity's identity in order to have a user provide sensitive information that the user would not provide if the user knew the person's or entity's actually identity.
A need therefore exists for a technique that better regulates who can gain access to information and services over telecommunication networks and to whom persons transmit sensitive information.